By Russ Britt

Consumers are becoming more aware of medical costs, but health-care providers are usually not forthcoming when it comes to outlining how much their bills will be, a study released Monday finds.

Reuters

The report from Chicago-based management consultant TransUnion says pre-treatment costs are being provided to patients only 25% of the time even though 38% of them ask for detailed expenses before they receive care.

Though they didn’t always ask for a breakdown ahead of time, nearly two-thirds of consumers, or 63%, said they wanted to know the full cost of their health care, including what their insurance company would pay, while the remaining 37% only cared about what their portion of the medical bill would be.

“The consumer mentality, I would say, they’re getting more educated and more aware,” said Dave Wojczynski. “They’re definitely speaking their voice on patient satisfaction.”

More than half of respondents, or 54%, said they were confused by medical bills in some fashion, while 62% said they often were surprised by out-of-pocket costs they would face.

More than 80% of those surveyed said if they had a breakdown of expenses ahead of time, that would be “helpful” or “extremely helpful” in managing their medical expenses. the survey said.

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